September 15, 2021.
STYAL, STYAL CROSS, THE BOLLIN VALLEY, AIRPORT INN, MORLEY GREEN, LINDOW MOSS, BLACK LAKE, LINDOW COMMON, THE KING WILLIAM AT WILMSLOW, BODDINGTON PLAYING FIELDS, THE CARRS, LACEY GREEN, QUARRY BANK MILL AND THE SHIP AT STYAL
Distance: 9+miles.
Difficulty: Easy.
Weather: Dry and warm with sunshine and cloud.
Walkers: Mickey Barrett, Andy Blease, Alastair Cairns with Daisy, Tom Cunliffe with Daisy, Mark Gibby, Hughie Hardiman, Alan Hart, Chris Owen, Keith Welsh.
Non-walking drinkers: Colin Davison and Laurie Fairman.
Apologies: Peter Beal, George Dearsley (in Turkey), John Jones and Dean Taylor (walking The Cumbrian Way).
Leaders: Various. Diarist: Hart.
Starting point: Road next to The Ship at Styal.
Starting time: 9.40am. Finishing time: 2.30pm.
It is more than four years since we last followed this route through some of the picturesque countryside in and around Cheshire's Bollin Valley. For those who made the return visit it reminded us of what had been overlooked for too long.
We also had the pleasure of welcoming back one of the Wednesday Wanderers' national treasures, Laurie Fairman, whose walk leadership qualities have been sadly missed since a series of injuries, illnesses and general wear and tear have deprived us of his company. His knowledge of various local walks accumulated over three decades is experience beyond price.
It was great to see him again in good spirits despite his chemotherapy treatment and we look forward to his making a good recovery. We also had fleeting glimpses of his wife Wendy and his recent alternative walking partner Colin.
Lack of a designated leader forced us once again to rely on collective effort to find our way round the course, but we managed quite well apart from a couple of minor detours. There are so many alternative footpaths criss-crossing the Bollin valley and nearby fields that it is impossible to describe our journey in any detail. What follows is therefore a general fuzzy picture of our travels.
With The Ship at Styal on our right we walked some 200 yards along the road before turning left and passing a row of recently thatched cottages on our left.
Beyond the cottages we headed right (5mins) and turned right again at a gate marked with a red arrow. At the end of the path we turned left as we reached Styal Cross on our right.
This local landmark was moved to Holly Lane, Styal, in 1860 but was demolished by a runaway lorry in 1980. It was rebuilt at its present location in 1983.
Passing Styal Unitarian Chapel on our right we entered Chapel Woods (12mins) and had our first glimpse of the River Bollin, which we were to cross on several occasions during the course of the day. The first time was via Chapel Bridge. We later crossed it, after an unintended diversion, at Giant's Castle footbridge (33mins)
The path then led us up and down on a winding route following the right bank of the river and reaching a lane (58mins) where we turned left across a bridge and entered the car park of The Airport Hotel.
This was the former Valley Lodge Hotel, which brought sordid nostalgia to some of our walkers who recalled youthful escapades there, featuring grab-a-granny night on Thursdays.
We crossed the main road opposite the hotel and turned left, bumping into an old friend of the Burnage Rugby Club section called Jock. Unlike our colleague Jock Rooney, this Jock had a Scottish accent. After a brief chat in which we disclosed our chosen watering hole, we continued and turned right at a wooden public footpath sign by the side of a flight of steps leading up to a metal kissing gate and into a field (65mins)
This led us through fields to emerge via another metal kissing gate at the rear of homes belonging to former England and Manchester City footballer Mike Summerbee, Coronation Street star Simon Gregson (Steve McDonald) and Mickey Barrett's daughter.
Crossing a road we headed for a white house, going through the right of way to the right of the building and through a metal kissing gate into a field (73mins). Another metal kissing gate brought us to a lane where we turned right and stopped for pies and port by the same farmhouse we had paused outside four years earlier (80mins)
On this occasion I am pleased to report that there was no large white Pomeranian dog to come out and greet us by having a spectacular dump a few feet from where we were eating.
Continuing we followed a farm track with bushes on either side to reach Mobberley Road at Morley Green (85mins). After first heading the wrong way left opposite a house called Sandiway we reversed, effectively turning right as we returned. Instead of carrying on to Eccups Lane we chose a public footpath on our left in the hope it would lead us to Lindow Common. It was at this point that the map app on Andy's phone proved a useful tool in guiding us along a cobweb of footpaths to find it.
Lindow Moss is a peat bog where the preserved body of an Iron Age Man – dubbed variously Pete Marsh, Lindow Pete or Lindow Man – was found by a peat-cutter in 1984. The body, comprising a head, torso, arms and one leg was of a man of 25, 5ft 7ins tall and weighing 10 stones. According to carbon-dating tests he had died between 20 and 90AD.
Because of his well-manicured hands it was believed he may have been a Druid priest, who had been clubbed over the head, garrotted and had his throat cut.
We skirted the area, passing Black Donkey Cottage, Bowers Folly, Newgate Nature Reserve, Springfield House and Branford until we reached the end of Lindow Lane and took a clockwise route around Black Lake at Lindow Common (120mins)
We turned left to leave the lake and emerged on a path behind the sign for Racecourse Park (134mins). After reaching Moor Lane we turned left, passing two pubs which were an affront to English grammar.
The people of up-market Wilmslow should be up in arms at the lack of apostrophes on both the signs for The Farmers Arms and The Carters Arms. How can customers expect efficiency from hostelries who cannot punctuate the Queen's English ?
We continued past Wilmslow United Reform Church on our right as we reached the main road (145mins) and turned left, passing the Coach and Four on our right as we proceeded through the town centre to reach The King William (156mins). Here we enjoyed pints of Robbies' Unicorn and Dizzy Blonde for £3-95 in the beer garden, where we were joined by Laurie and the Scottish Jock we had met earlier.
Colin soon disappeared to play in a bowls match and we glimpsed Wendy briefly as she came to drive our wounded comrade home. Bonne chance notre brave!
Resuming we turned left out of the pub's main door and walked to the left of a circular garden before turning left and reaching an archway on our left at the entrance to Boddington Playing Fields (161mins)
Henry Boddington JP (1849-1925) owned Boddington's Brewery at Strangeways and bought Pownall Hall, Wilmslow, in 1886. On his death he donated the land “for the recreation, health and pleasure of Wilmslow and her children for ever.”
On the far side of the park we entered The Carrs, a well-mown meadow alongside the Bollin. At picnic tables we paused for lunch (170mins). Continuing afterwards we crossed a bridge and the river was now on our right (171mins)
We turned right over a footbridge (176mins) and headed left towards Lacey Green and Styal , passing between the river on our left and public toilets on our right. After crossing another wooden footbridge we turned left passing a sign inscribed National Trust Styal (180mins).
The path led us across Heron's Pool Bridge (188mins)and we turned left to reach Quarry Bank Mill on our left (194mins). After passing the Visitors' Centre on our right we carried on until we reached a sign for Styal Village on our left (200 mins). This brought us back where we started, passing the thatched cottages as we returned to the road and headed right for pints of Timothy Taylor's cask bitter in The Ship (212mins)
Next week's walk will start at Alport at 10am where we will meet at a layby near a red phone box. To reach Alport take the A6 southeast of Buxton through Bakewell and turn right along the B5056. After a mile turn right at the sign for Alport and the phone box is on the left.
It is hoped that English Jock will lead and we will follow a route through Stanton in Peak and Nine Ladies Circle on our way to Birchover and the hermit's cave before returning via Youlgreave and stopping in The George for refreshment prior to the journey home.
Happy wandering !
